A Milestone for our Etsy Shop

IrinaPhotographyCard

Today the number of 'admirers' of our Etsy shop has reached 300 people. This is a very important milestone for me. I opened the shop on February 16, we received the first order (a custom made chiffon blouse) on March 13, and worked throughout the spring. 

In June I was not doing anything for the shop at all, due to being overloaded with my 'real' work and having to deal with personal and health issues.

I had a great vacation in July, and came back well rested. I still was not sure about how much time and energy I wanted to invest in the shop. My photos were horrendous, my texts were bad. But I looked at all the wonderful feedback left by the customers, and my heart melted... Even though pictures were bad, the actual things were good, and people loved them. It was my fault that I could not present them well. 

I consulted with my beloved Russian Artists's Team and made an effort to improve. I read articles on how to make better pictures in totally unsuitable conditions (I have to photograph in a rather small room with poor lighting and this is unlikely to change in the near future) and how to make my shop more easily found. Later on I joined the Upcyclers' Team, and they provided lots of support, too.

I revamped my shop three times within three days, changing most of the photos, until I came up with the style I considered most suitable. I am almost happy with what I have now.

I want to say a big thank you to everyone who helped, with special thanks going to Irina of IrinaPhotographyCard, who knows everything about photography and is always happy to help; to Lana of BelleCoccinelle, who gives me priceless advice on home textiles and style - and her own style is impeccable; to Lena of LenaMer, who supported me throughout the revamping process; to Oksana of LaFiabaRussa for advising me on how to arrange the giveaway in the best possible manner, and to each and everyone who supported. Even a few words like 'Eugenie, I love what you are doing - keep up the good work!' are important and valuable. 

I do apologize if I forgot to mention someone specifically. I would love to thank all the team fellows, and even some of those people who do not know me personally and never talked to me. There are some really amazing shops out there which serve as great models to me in terms of coherence of style, quality of photos and texts, and shop policies. I do my best to learn. 

And of course I thank my wonderful customers for their support and trust in us! We work for you, and your satisfaction is the best reward for us.

To conclude with, I want to share a lovely feedback I received yesterday from Vivian who bought four silk ikat scarves in our shop.

'...The colours are out of this world, far more subtle than on the PC, and the whole scarf is just breathtaking. What extraordinary craftsmanship to make these beauties! And the service was as outstanding as the scarves. Thanks for providing us with the opportunity to buy these beautiful things!'

This is what gives me energy to go on, even when I am really tired. Thank you!

Beloved Pastels and Neutrals

We are introducing another direction to our shop. Along with bright and bold statement ikat fabrics, we are now going to present more silk ikat fabrics in pastel shades. They are not easy to find, and I am afraid it might be difficult for me to part with them. However, my closet is not limitless, and there are only so many days in the year. I cannot keep everything I like.

Yesterday I had another photo shoot and replaced old photos of this scarf that I have had for a while. I was so happy while taking the pictures, and so engaged - I forgot to have breakfast, and then I only had lunch at 4pm. And all that was after a sleepless night (I was finishing a large translation).

...But it was a bliss! Look at the pictures of my ikat silk scarf in pastels, with 100 inch strand of freshwater pearls, and believe me that it was much better in real life. It is so sublime, with soft pastel colors and elegant lace like pattern, but still feels earthy and organic, due to the handwoven nature of this smooth and cool shoyi silk.

 (the scarf is here)

I am very happy to have a motivation for taking pictures again. I lost interest a while ago, and was mostly taking photos of the kids (including my dog), but now I am really interested in taking great pictures for the shop and this blog. I know there is a huge scope for improvement, but I am working on it, and it feels great.

Silk Ikat Blouses for Elizabeth

Today we are shipping a custom order. We really love how it turned out, and I would like to write about it. 

...All of our customers are very important to us, valued and special, but Elizabeth will always stand apart. She was our very first customer on Etsy. Elizabeth found us in the spring 2012, when we just opened; she placed a custom order, and ordered a number of pieces from us since then. Her reaction to the items she receives from us serves as a great incentive for further improvements and a wonderful support. Her first feedback was as follows:

'...Exquisite, gorgeous - I cannot describe how beautiful this set is. The fabric is stunning and the design modern, comfortable, and attractive. It is also perfect fit, thanks to Eugenie's excellent communication with me and Irina's amazing skill and eye for design. I am already planning on another custom order!'

You can imagine how happy we were to read this! I translated it to mother, and I think she learned it by heart. Of course we are blessed to have Elizabeth as a customer and we treasure our relationships. 

Recently Elizabeth asked us if we could suggest some blouses with relaxed fit and short sleeves for her. She wanted them made of khan atlas - that is pure silk satin, smooth, cool and luxurious, with traditional ikat pattern. My mother has drawn four sketches:

...and Elizabeth has chosen the two on the top - one with a split neckline and the off-shoulder one. These were our preferences, too. 

Mother made custom patterns based on our customer's measurements. She never uses ready made patterns. For each new customer she makes new patterns from scratch to ensure that the clothing will fit. She believes that this is what custom made clothing is about. 

The split neckline blouse was relatively simple in terms of fit, whereas for the off-shoulder one she decided to make a model first - to sew it from a piece of cheap cotton first to see how it comes out. That cut is more complicated because it should be off-shoulder without slipping further and making you feel uncomfortable - in other words, that shoulder looks like falling but it is supposed to stay in place firmly. Besides, the bottom hem is supposed to be even and not skewed. And the fabric chosen by Elizabeth for this top was extremely beautiful, rare - a vintage piece - and valuable. So, mother produced this model, roughly sewn but fully in line with the pattern of course:

She looked on it, tried in on the mannequin, tried it on herself to see that the balance is good and then, satisfied that it fit perfectly well, she cut the silk ikat fabric.

The model was not needed anymore. Actually I quite liked it and said we should not dump it. I could tea stain it, put some lace, buttons, ribbons, old Lego pieces, coke tabs, etc. on it and sell it as a truly unique Boho one of a kind tribal ethnic magic wearable piece of art - Etsy is full of them. Unfortunately my mother did not appreciate my idea and told me to do something useful instead of talking nonsense and distracting her. You see, she is hopelessly practical and believes that clothing should be professionally made, beautiful, stylish and long lasting. (I might sneak this model away though to alter and list it to see if it will be popular).

So, as a result, mother made these two blouses (tops, tanks, tunics - you choose).

We consider them to be really good. They are bright and bold, but can be easily balanced by solid color coordinates. They can be worn with blue jeans - especially the off-shoulder one, since it has so much blue - or with black, gray, slate, dark green or white pants of various lengths and proportions. They will look great with both capri and pencil pants, and there are more options possible, depending on personal preferences. 

This ikat fabric has one very valuable feature; it is extremely flattering, making the wearer appear much slimmer. We call it 'our instant slimming silk'. This is especially true about the blouse on top; those areas with more narrow pattern on the sides creates a strong visual effect of a much slimmer body. I have a green and black ikat tunic myself, and I look almost too thin wearing it.

I hope Elizabeth loves her blouses. My mother did her best in making them, and I did my best to take pictures as true to life as possible.

We now offer these models in our shop, both the ikat top with split neckline and the off-shoulder silk blouse. They will be made based on each customer's individual measurements. And of course something totally different can be designed and made from scratch. We have lots of lovely vintage silk in different colors (some are here), and we can always offer additional choices.

My mother loves this work. She keeps singing while working, and that makes me happy.

Jager: Glamour and Reality

I have no time to write today, as I am finishing a large report and revamping the shop at the same time. I am so deeply immersed in the shop these days - I do hope that I will not write anything about silk blouses and ikat pillow covers in this report on agricultural development.

In the meantime I just want to post these two photos of my dog, Jager. They are not new, but I like them and some of you (well, few of you) may have not seen them. They were made during the same morning walk, within 40 minutes, which makes them especially funny to me. .

I find the contrast hilarious. It makes me think of cover girls - what they might look like when they have a chance to relax and just enjoy themselves, forgetting about their beauty. And what does it bring to your mind?

New Skin for Miss Arabella

I bought this mannequin in the end of spring and was very happy. The matter is, we do not have them in the market, so I had to search for a while and finally bought one from a wedding salon. I was so excited about my luck - we even had a fun photo shoot with her.

I hope this photo does not seem offensive to anyone. I have a lot of respect and love for my mannequin. She was clearly happy to move to my place, too, and leave the dusty salon behind. Her name is Arabella and I think she is beautiful. 

My only grievance was her size. She is smaller than me, and I am not very large; to make pictures of larger size clothing modeled by Arabella we have to pin the items on her, keeping the proportions. But this is what many small shops do, so I was not upset about that.

However, my pictures of clothing for the shop were not good, to say the least. I could see they were not doing justice to the items, but could not quite understand what to do with them. I suffered silently, until the dearest Lana of Lanadearg creations (knitted or felted hats, bags, beanies, scarfs, socks and many other cozy and beautiful things) from the Russian Artists' Team suggested that I replace Arabella's black velvet cover with something lighter in color, to reduce the contrast. Lana has great taste and sense of style, and excellent pictures, so  we decided to give it a try.

We found a old cotton knitted dress, and mother made a new cover for Arabella. Lo and behold - before (left) and after (right):

(listing in my shop)

Now I feel much more confident about my pictures.

I have also changed the style of photos for the shop, but that is a separate story and I will tell it later. In the meantime I want to thank Lana once again for her great advice. It is good to be in one team with people who are ready to give you a hand when you need it. And I cannot say enough about the Russian Team (the uniting attribute is Russian language) that provides great support in a friendly atmosphere.

Arabella is sending her best regards, too.